Cheating on a spouse can destroy a marriage, and in today’s story, one man isn’t sure if he should forgive his cheating wife or cut ties and move on.

After six years of marriage, he discovers that his wife has been cheating on him with a coworker.

He’s struggling with the idea of forgiveness, but his wife insists he should give their marriage another chance.

Who’s in the wrong here?

AITA for refusing to forgive my wife for cheating, even though she says it was my fault?

My wife (32F) and I (34M) have been married for six years.

A few weeks ago, I found out she cheated on me with a coworker.

She swore it “meant nothing” and blamed me for it, saying I’ve been emotionally distant and not giving her enough attention.

For context, I work long hours because I’m the main provider. She works part-time by choice because she wanted more free time for herself.

Free time…or cheating time?

I never complained about that—I just wanted her to be happy.

But now she says my long work hours made her feel “neglected” and “unwanted,” so she “fell into” an affair.

I told her cheating is a choice, not an accident. If she was unhappy, she could have talked to me instead of sleeping with someone else.

She keeps crying and saying she regrets it, but I don’t feel sorry for her. I feel betrayed.

It wasn’t a small mistake.

She’s mad that I won’t even consider working through it and says I’m “throwing away our marriage over one mistake.”

I don’t think I owe her forgiveness, but some friends and even her family say I should at least try to fix things instead of “giving up so easily.”

AITA for refusing to forgive her?

Despite her tears and regrets, the husband feels the betrayal is too much to overlook…and honestly, so do the people of Reddit.

This person says NTA and leaving is the best bet.

This person agrees…most definitely NTA.

And this person says the excuses are just that: Excuses.

Forgiveness is earned, not demanded—especially when someone else’s “free time” becomes a little too free.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.